Medication safety in mental health

There are significant gaps in the research into understanding the extent of medication problems, errors and adverse events during inpatient stays in mental health facilities. We found no Australian studies that assessed the rate of medication-related hospital admissions to mental health wards, or the accuracy of patients’ medication histories on admission to mental health units; nor were there any studies examining the extent of medication administration errors in mental health units. The rate of prescribing errors in mental health units appears to be similar to that found in the general health setting, with, on average, one clinical prescribing error per patient, per admission; while discharge summaries were not provided for one in five patients within the mental care setting.